2021 Escarpment Noir Pinot Noir, Martinborough

Intense, complex, fragrant nose with stimulating aromas of black cherry, tobacco leaf, cigar box, coffee grinds and a hint of marmite. Medium-weight, but tasty, concentrated and intense with plush fruit, lovely sour cherry and spice flavours and sappy, supple tannins providing ample structure. An impressive wine that needs another year or two to show its best.

95 points nzwinerater.com Mar 2023

Crimson red in colour, the wine opens with classic savoury notes. Lifted perfume, underpinned with “herbs de Provence” offers intriguing complexity. Cascading red fruits and charcuterie combine on the pallet, to create a wine of depth and texture. Tautly structured with fine grained tannin, this is a wine that is immediately appealing but will also reward with a few years in the cellar. Serve at 16°C and enjoy with any red meat and rich pasta dishes, or as a perfect accompaniment to a barbeque.

The Noir label brings together 35 years of wine making experience, creating a soft, bright, fruit forward wine which can be enjoyed immediately or will cellar successfully for a number of years. 100% Martinborough fruit, that has been open top fermented using indigenous yeast. After an average vat time of 20 days the wine was pressed off and aged in predominately older French barriques for 11 months. Bottled without fining or filtration, the resulting wine is a blend of 34 individual parcels. Structure and texture sit perfectly with ripe fruit flavours and gentle tannins that combine with intriguing complexity. Enjoy with many types of cuisines or cellar confidently for 5+ years.